updated 08:34 am EDT, Mon July 8, 2013

Samsung, HTC feeling investor heat over flagging smartphone sales

Samsung and HTC have both seen their share prices pummeled overnight by investors concerned about slowing demand for flagship smartphones. Samsung shares fell over 4 percent after it released its second-quarter earnings estimates. Despite anticipating a record profit of $8.3 billion on the back of $49 billion in revenue, this fell well short of analysts' expectations. Reports have emerged of weakening demand for its Galaxy S4 flagship in recent months, which is now thought to be reflected in its weaker than forecast financial results.

Similarly, HTC shares are also down, plunging to a seven year low and knocking $395 million off the Taiwanese handset maker's market cap. HTC's losses came despite the company meeting its own guidance for the quarter with investors hoping to see a stronger performance on the basis of a strong critical reception for the HTC One. HTC posted a profit for the past quarter of just $41.6 million on revenue of $2.4 billion. Analysts were predicting a profit of $65 million, based on an optimistic outlook for the HTC One.

Apple has also not been immune to negative investor sentiment. Despite posting a record quarter early this year, its stock has fallen from a record high of over $700 per share, down its current level of $417.42 at the time of writing. Apple will post its results for its third fiscal quarter on Tuesday July 23. As with Samsung and HTC, the key metric analysts will focus on is its flagship smartphone sales. [viaPhone Arena]

I don't get it. Amazon has had quarters where they didn't meet guidance. The share price would drop for a short while and then suddenly rise to new heights. How does Amazon manage to create that magic that other companies can't.